Trolley bucket



Oct. 25, 1932. e. L. MOREHEAD ET AL 1,384,109

TROLLEY BUCKET 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 F294 Filed April 27, 1931 3 a. MZ wk n ar fwo m W2 v. I

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Oct. 25, 1932. G. L. MOREHEAD ET AL 1,884,109

TROLLEY BUCKET Filed April 27, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 [n ezefwas' Gear eZ.Jforekeaa C/zar e diyauni fr .9 Q m or 1932- G. L. MOREHEAD ET AL1,884,109

TROLLEY BUCKET Filed April 27,' 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 In V6 wzanf Geo/yel/Yarekeaa Oct. 25, 1932. G. L. MOREHEAD ET AL 1,884,109

TROLLEY BUCKET I Filed April 27. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I In yeizians'dear 6f. JZareeczd 29 5 I iarle gjZjazaz y-fi' i Qfikv Oct. 25, 1932. G.L. MOREHEAD ET AL 1,384,109

' TROLLEY BUCKET Filed April 27, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 @QAW-GZA GEORGE-LMOREHEAD AND CHARLES M. YOUNG, JR., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL'-- PatentedOct. 25, 1932 UNITED stares PATENT ounce VANIA, ASSIGNORS TO LINK-BELTOOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- TION OF ILLINOIS TROLLEYBUCKET Application filed April 27,

, Thisinvention relates, to a hoisting and conveying means. .In one formit is shown as applied to a trolley bucket, although it is not limitedto use in that connection.

\ One object of the invention is to provide a bucket having abottom'opening closed by one or more doors, so arranged that upontilting of the bucket these doors automati cally close.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for guidin r such abucket as it changes its direction of movement from that along thetrolley to that of the loading position, I I

Another object is to provide a shockabsorbing or alleviating means inconnection withsuch a bucket, which shock absorbing means utilizes anessential part of the apparatus and so avoids the use of additionalparts. v

\ Otl181.0l)j6CtS will appear from time to time in the specification andclaims. 1

The invention is illustratedmore or less diagrammatically in theaccompanying. drawings, wherein 'Figure 1 is an end elevation of abucket, showing it in position supported from a trolley, the trolleytrack being in section;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bucket, showing it in positionsupported by the troly;

' Figure 3 is a diagrammatic vertical cross section, showing the bucketand loader and associated parts; I

Figure A is a diagrammatic plan View, showing the bucket centralizingmeans;

Figure 5 is a side elevation, showing the same bucket centralizingmeans;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of door and doorlocking mechanism Figure 7 is a perspective view of a .further modifiedform of door and'door locking mechanism; and, i

t Figure 8 is a transverse vertical section of the constructionshown inFigure 7.

7 Like parts are designated by like charactors throughout thespecification and draw ings.

A is a rail or track adapted to support a 1931. Serial No. 533,046.

bers has one branch A Atpositioned upon one side of the track A. andWheels A are j ournaled upon the members A The wheels are flanged asshown and rest upon the flange of the track member A. Suitablelubricating and adjusting parts are used with the constructionjustdescribed. Their details form noparticular part of the present inventionand will not be described in detail. A, A are hoisting rope sheavesjournaled in the trolley frame and preferably between the channelmembers A. A A are preferably squared loosely mounted shank memberswhich are mounted for limited vertical reciprocation in the trolleyframe, preferably between the frame members A and held against rotationby the fact that they are squared. Each of the members A at its lowerend carriesan extended contact plate A and at its upper endhas'journaled in it a sheave or flanged wheel A", the member A beingbifurcated at its upper end as indicated particularly in Figure 1, toreceive the sheave. A hoisting rope A is fastened at, each end to thetrolley frame and may be engaged about a bar A A is a hoisting ropewhich is in contact with the shock absorber sheaves A and with thesheaves A and a sheave upon the bucket, as will be described below.

A bucket which may be of any suitable shape but in the present form ofthe invention is of generally rectangular cross section, is formed ofend members or plates B and side members B and B The bottom of thebucket is partially open and partially closed. A V-shaped member B ispositioned adjacent the bottom of the bucket and partially closes it, asshown particularly in Figure 1, with its sharp edge pointed upward. Theend plates B may be of irregular shape,indicated in Figure 1, cut awayat the bottom as shown in that figure. [The side plate B extends fromthe bottom to the top of the bucket and is inclined inwardly. The sideplate B extends substan-v tially vertically from the bottom of thebucket to a point short of the top, terminating at 13*, as indicated inFigures 1 and 2. Adjacent the top of the bucket on the side of the plateB is a loader operating bar B It may be supported in brackets B fastenedto the ends plates B. On the side plate B two axles or shafts B B arepositioned. They carry flanged rollers B B shaped to engage the tracks.Positioned at the upper end of the bucket and fastened preferably to theside plates B are bearing and contact bracket members B. Each of themterminates in or carries on its upper surface laterally exitendedportion B 5. B is a bail which may be formed in any suitable manner butis or dinarily formed of one or more channel members joined together.This bail is provided in its end with trunnions B which are ournaled inthe bearing supporting members B.

Supported from the bail B is a hoisting she-ave B which is journaled insuitable bearings formed'in the members B B B are cable guides situatedadjacent the sheave B serving to guide the cable to and from it.

Int-he bottom of the bucket, in the form shown in Figures 1 and 2, twodoors or gates are pivoted. The door C is pivoted at C and is preferablyrelatively large and heavy. It has attached to it a lever extension C Arelatively smaller and lighter door C is pivotally mounted at C and hasfastened to it a' lever extension C A link C connects the 5 members Cand C These links and lever connections may be provided on only one endof the doors or on both ends. C is a toggle arm or link pivoted at oneend upon the door O and fastened at its other end to a second toggle armC which at its opposite end is pivoted to the door C. The toggle C maybe made heavy or may be provided with a counter-weight or weightedportion C The lever extension C may be provided with sufficient weight,either by being made heavy itself or by having attached to it acounterweight so that it balances the door C The doors C and C areprovided with suitable frame and lip members, as shown in the figures.The bottom of the bucket may also be provided with suitable lip members,as shown particularly in Figure 1.

The bucket is intended to be moved into position with relation to aloader so that it may receive material from the latter. As shown inFigure 3, D is a pit int-o which a bin D extends. From the bin a loaderD is adapted to discharge material through a spout 1) into the bucket.Inclined tracks D'* extend into and up out of the pit D. These tracksare adapted to receive the flanged wheels B of the bucket and so tosupport and guide the bucket in its movement to, into and from the pit.The tracks D terminate at or near an inclined surface'member D Adjacentthe upper ends of the tracks D* is a V-shaped formation preferably madeup of a pair of rails D. As the bucket descends from the dotted lineposition X of Figure 5, to the full line position of Figure 5, therollers or wheels B contact first the inclined surface member 1) andthen by means of the centralizing members I), these wheels are guidedinto proper engagement with the tracks D and thus the bucket is guidedonto the tracks so that it can move along-them into position in the pitfor loading.

As shown in Figure 6, the bucket and door construction is the same asthat described above and shown particularly in Figures 1 and 2. Adifferent toggle construction is used, however, and the toggle isapplied only to the lighter door C At its other end the toggle isfastened to a fixed support.

E is a support fastened to the door C to which one toggle arm E ismounted. E is a fixed support 011 the V-shaped member B in the bucketbottom. A second toggle arm E is pivoted at one end on the support E andat its other end as at E is pivoted to the toggle arm E The toggle arm Emay have formed upon it one or more laterally extended and weightedparts E These parts serve to weight the toggle and also, if laterallyextended as shown in Figure 6, they serve as contact members when thebucket is lowered for emptying.

In the further modification shown in Figures 7 and 8, two doors areused, but they are hung so as to swing outwardly in opening, as

indicated in the dotted line position of Figure 8, rather than swinginginwardly for opening, as indicated in the full line position ofFigure 1. Thus, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, F is a relatively large andheavy door, hinged to the body as at F and provided with an extension F.F is a relatively lighter and smaller door, hinged to the body as at Fand provided with an extension F A link F joins the extensions F 2 and FThe doors may be provided with suitable stiffening frame members or lipmembers, as shown in the figures. In this form of the invention, thereis no toggle. The door F is perforated as at F 7 and a single latchprojects through it and in one position engages it to hold the doorclosed.

A fixed support G is provided upon the V-shaped member B in the bottomof the bucket. Pivoted upon this fixed support is a latch having onebranch or arm G terminating in a hook portion G which may extend throughthe perforation F in the door F and in one position engage the door tohold it closed. The latch has a second arm G which may carry a weightedand laterally extended portion G and preferably intermediate its endshas a hooking nose or part G which is adapted to engage the edge of thedoor F to hold it locked. The parts are shown in the closed position infull lines in Figure Sand in the open position in the dotted lines ofthat figure. For some purposes it is desirable to limit the openingmovement of the door F F or this purpose a stop may be provided. Asshown, one or both of the extensions F of the door. F is provided withan additional projection G and one or more 7 stops G are positioned onthe bucket'walls,

herewith shown and described a practical operative device, neverthelessmany changes might be made in the size, shape, numberand disposition ofparts without departing from the spirit-of our invention and we wish,therefore, that our showing be taken as in a sense diagrammatic. Forsome purposes it is not necessary to-have both of the two hook portionsG and G. Since the doors are linked together, if either of them is heldby a hook the other is held closed. Therefore, sometimes one or theother of the hook parts G or G may be eliminated. I

The use and operation of the invention are as follows e While the bucketof this invention might be used inmany connections, it is advantageouslyused as a trolley bucket in connection with a trolley conveying systemin which means are provided for ,dumping material into the bucket andfor raising the bucket and conveying it along a trolley system and fordumping it. As shown in Figure 3, the loader is conveniently located ina pit into which the bucket is moved along tracks.

Assume first that the bucket has been emptied, that the doors are in theposition shown in full lines in Figure 1, and the bucket is hanging fromor supported from the trolley structure. The bucket is moved along thetrolley by means of thetraversing rope to the right, toward the positionshown in dot ted lines in Figure 5. The bucket is still hangingvertically and is not in contact with the tracks and the doors are open.When the bucket reaches the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 5,.it is lowered until the rollers contact the inclined surface D Theyengage or contact the centralizing members 1) and'are thus guided ontothetracks D The bucket as it runs down the inclined surface D comesontothe tracks D and is tilted from a vertical position to a position at anangle to the vertical. Asit reaches this position, the heavier door Cswings downwardly from the open position toward the position shown inFigure 3. Through the link C I bucket.

which is connected to the door (land the v door O the downward orclosing movement of the door C is effective to move the door C upwardand to close it. As this movement occurs, the toggle swings to theposition shown in Figure 3, in which the toggle serves additionally tohold the doors in the closed posi ion. The toggle is so constructed thatthe central joint falls sufficiently below a line drawn from the centerof the end bearing of each toggle a m, so. that the toggle tends toremainin the extended position and to have a locking effect.

As the bucket is lowered furtherinto the pit beneath the loader, themember B contacts a part of the loaderand moves it to an open positionso that material is discharged into the open upper end of the When thebucket is loaded with material it is hoisted up the tracks and movesfrom the inclined position to the vertical position. The details of theloader and its method of operation are omitted as these details form noparticular part of the present invention. I

As. the bucket is hoisted further upward, it finally leaves the tracks Dand the inclined surface I) entirely and comes into contact with thetrolley frame. The lateral extensions B of the upper end of the bucketcontact the extensions A on the shock absorbing shanks A Sincetliese'shanks carry sheaves A over which the hoisting rope runs, andsince that rope is already under tens sion, as soon as the parts B havecontacted the parts A the further upward movement of the bucket isresisted by the tension of the hoisting rope. The hoisting rope which isa flexible member and which is already under tension, thus performs thedual purpose of acting as a hoisting rope and serving as a yielding orresilient tension means in a shock absorbing construction. Thisconstruction serves as a means of leveling the bucket and as a means ofreducing swinging of the bucket.

With the bucket now in position in contact with the trolley truck, thelatter, with the bucket, is moved by the traversing rope to the desiredpoint of discharge. hen that point Figure 1. As soonas the bucket is inthe upper position, the doors will, of their own weight,'swing open whenfree to do so and the weight of the material within the bucket is alsoeifective to movethe doors to the open position. Since a symmetricaldischarge,

thatis an equal discharge, from each door is desired, the larger door Cis arranged so that it does not swing as far as the smaller door C Thisis evident from an inspection of Figure 1. Thus asymmetrical and equaldischarge of material through both doors resalts and this has theadvantage of forming a symmetrical pile of material so that with eachsucceeding trip of the bucket it contacts a symmetrical pile and anytendency of the bucket to fall down the slope of the pile before thedoors are unlocked is avoided. After the bucket has contacted the pileand the doors have been opened, it is raised, the discharge of materialis completed.

After completing its discharge, the bucket is further hoisted so that itagain comes in contact with the trolley truck, the latter is moved backuntil the bucket reaches the dotted line position of Figure 5, when itis lowered as described above and again comes onto the tracks Q beingtilted as it does so, so that the doors close under their own weight andautomatically, as the door G tends to move to the closed position whenthe bucket is tilted.

In Figure 6 a modified form of the construction is shown in which thedoors are substantially the same as shown in the other forms. The togglemechanism is different, however. The toggle is not fastened to bothdoors but is fastened only to the lighter door C and its other end isfastened to a fixed abutment or support E on the V-shaped member B inthe bottom of the bucket. The operation of this form of bucket issubstantially the same as that of the other form just described. Tiltingof the bucket causes the door C to swing to a closed position andthrough the links C this closes the other door C and when the doors arein the closed position the toggle moves into the extended or lockingposition as shown in Figure 6. Dumping of this bucket is accomplished inthe same manner as that described above in connection with the otherform. The bucket is lowered onto a pile of material and the portions Eof the toggle strike the material and are forced upward out of theextended or locking position so that the doors are free to move to theopen position, which they do under the influence of their own weight orunder the influence of the weight of material within the bucket.

In the modified form shown in Figures 7 and 8 the doors, instead ofbeing hinged or pivoted to swing inwardly, as shown in the precedingforms, are hinged to swing outwardly. In this form or" the device F isthe heavy door. Instead of the toggle a pivoted latch is used. The doorsare connected together by links which serve the same pur pose as thelinks 0. When the bucket is tipped the door F swings downwardly to theposition shown in Figure 7, and to the full line position of Figure 8.As it moves downwardly to the closing position, the links F cause thedoor F to move upwardly or to the closed position. As this occurs thelatch G swings into position to engage the two doors and hold themclosed, the nose G of the latch penetrating the perforation F of thedoor F and the portion G of the latch engaging the edge of the door FThe parts will be held in this position until the bucket is dum 36d.When that occurs, the bucket is lowere into contact with the pile ofmaterial. The extended portion G of the latch contacts the material andthe latch is thus swung out of engagement with the two doors, permittingthem to swing open, thus permitting discharge of the material.

We claim:

1. In combination in a bucket, having an openin in its bottom, aplurality of movable doors mounted to close said opening, said doorsadapted, when free to move and when the bucket is in a verticalposition, to swing open and adapted when the bucket is in an inclinedposition automatically to swing closed.

2. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of movable doors mounted to close said opening, said doorsadapted, when free to move and when the bucket is in a verticalposition, to swing open and adapted when the bucket is in an illclinedposition automatically to swing closed, and a latching member adapted,when said doors have moved to the closed position, to latch them in saidposition.

3. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of movable doors mounted to close said opening, said doorsadapt-ed, when free to move and when the bucket is in a verticalposition, to swing open and adapted when the bucket is in an inclinedposition automatically to swing closed, and a latching member adaptedautomatically, when said doors have moved to the closed position, tolatch them in said position.

4. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, a fixedmember partially closing said open bottom, and a plurality of movabledoors mounted to close said opening, said doors adapted when free tomove and when the bucket is in a vertical position, to swing open andadapted when the bucket is in an inclined position automatically toswing closed, and a latching member adapted automatically, when saiddoors have moved to the closed position, to latch them in said position.

5. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said bottom, one of said doors adaptedwhen the bucket is tilted to swing closed, and a connection between saiddoors to cause closing movement of one automatically to close the otherand means for tilting the bucket.

6. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said'bottom, one of said doors adaptedwhen the bucket is tilted to swing closed, and a connection between saiddoors to cause closing movement of one automatically to close the other,and a latch adapted to move to engage a door and to hold it in theclosed position and means for tilting the bucket.

7. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said bottom, one of said doors adaptedwhen the bucket is tilted to swing closed, and a connection between saiddoors to cause closing movement of one automatically to close the other,and a latch associated with one of said doors, adapted automatical- 1yto move to engage a door and to hold it in the closed position and meansfor tilting the bucket.

8. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said bottom, one of said doors adaptedwhen the bucket is tilted to swing closed, and a connection between saiddoors to cause closing movement of one automatically to close the other,and a latch associated with one of said doors, adapted automatically, asthe door moves to the closed position, to move to engage a door and tohold it in the closed position and means for tilting the bucket.

9. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said bottom, adapted when the bucket is ina vertical position to swing open when free to do so, one of said doorsadapted when the bucket is moved to an inclined position to swingclosed, and a connection between said doors to cause closing movement ofone automatically to close theother.

10. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said bottom, adapted when the bucket is ina vertical position to swing open when free to do so, one of said doorsadapted when the bucket is moved to an inclined position to swingclosed, and a connection between said doors to cause closing movement ofone automatically to close the other, and a latch adapted automaticallyto move to engage a. door and to hold it in the closed position.

11. In a bucket having an opening in its bottom, two movable membersmounted in one position to close the bottom, the mem.

bers being movably linked together, whereby movement of one istransmitted to the other, one of the movably mounted members adaptedautomatically and of itself to swing to a closed position, when thebucket is tilted,

and thereby to move the. other movably mounted member to the closedposition, and a toggle attached to each of said members and adapted whenthey are in the closed positionto co-operate in holding them in thatposition and means for tilting the bucket.

12. In combination in a bucket having an openbottom and an open top, afixed member partially closing the bottom, a pair of movably mounted.doors mounted adjacent the bottom of the bucket, said doors adapted,when free to move and when the bucket is vertical, toswing open, one ofthem adapted when the bucket is tilted to swing to a closed position,the two doors being linked together,

whereby movement of one to a closed position closes the other, and atoggle attached to the two doors and adapted when the doors are in theclosed position to move to a fixed extended position to lock the doorsclosed, the toggle adapted when broken to free the doors for openingmovement and means for tilting the bucket.

' 13. In combination in abucket, having an| opening in its bottom, aclosure movably mounted to close said bottom, said closure positionedand proportioned to swing open when free to do so, and when the bucketis in one position, and positioned and proportioned automatically toswing closedwhen the bucket is'moved to another position, andautomatically operating latching means associated with said closure,adapted when the closure moves to the closing position to latch thesame, to retain it in the closed position, said latch provided with aportion extending below the bottom of the bucket, whereby when thebucket is lowered upon a surface, the latch will contact said surfacebeforethe bucket and will be unlatched.

14. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of movable doors mounted to close said opening, said doorsadapted, when free to'move and when the bucket is in one position, toswing open and adapted when the bucket is in another positionautomatically to swing closed,.and a'toggle adapted, when said doorshave moved to the closed position, to latch them in said position. I v

15. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom,aplurality of movable doors mounted to close said opening, said doorsadapted, when free to move and when the bucket is in one position, toswing open and adapted when the bucket is in another positionautomatically to swing closed, and a toggle adapted automatically, whensaid doors havemoved to the closed position, to latch them in saidposition.

16. In combination in a bucket, having an opening in its bottom, aplurality of doors mounted in said bottom, one of said doors adapted.when the bucket is tilted to swing closed, and a connection between saiddoors to cause closing movement of one automatically to close the other,and a toggle adapted automatically, as the door moves to the closedposition, to move to lock the doors closed and means for tilting thebucket.

17. In combination in a bucket having an opening in its bottom, amovable door mounted to close said opening, said door adapted when freeto move and when the bucket is in one position, to swing open, andadapted when the bucket is in another position automatically to swingclosed.

18. In combination, a bucket having an open bottom, a plurality of doorspivoted therein and adapted to close the bottom, a motion transmittingconnection interposed between the doors, a toggle link interposedbetween the doors when they are in the closed position to lock them andadapted when they are in the open position to float upward to permitthem to swing open, means for suspending the bucket, means interposed inthe path of the bucket for as it descends downwardly tilting it wherebythe weight of one of the doors causes it to rotate downwardly from theopen to the closed position so that the motion transmitting mechanismmay open the other door upwardly to the closed position, the togglebeing counterweighted so that as this happens, the toggle swings down toassist the door closing movement.

19. In combination, a bucket having an open bottom, a plurality of doorspivoted therein and adapted to close the bottom, a motion transmittingconnection interposed between the doors, a toggle link interposedbetween the doors when they are in the closed position to lock them andadapted when they are in the open position to float upward to permitthem to swing open, means for suspending the bucket, means interposed inthe path of the bucket for as it descends downwardly tilting it wherebythe weight of one of the doors causes it to rotate downwardly from theopen to the closed position so that the motion transmitting mechanismmay open the other door upwardly to the closed position, the togglebeing counterweighted so that as this happens, the toggle swings down toassist the door closing movement, the guide means comprising an inclinedmember upon which the bucket travels and means associated with saidmember for guiding the bucket therealong.

Signed at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, this 17th day of April, 1931.

GEORGE L. MOREHEAD. CHARLES M. YOUNG, JR.

